


Player.

by orphan_account



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, Smug Assholes in love, They are both daddy, WWE NXT
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-02-23 04:10:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23738797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Rhea Ripley's life revolves around women and parties - she gave up on love a long time ago.But then she meets the equally bold and brazen Bianca Belair and sparks fly immediately.
Relationships: Rhea Ripley/Bianca Belair
Comments: 54
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all, I'm back with a new story. I know lots of people are probably on lockdown and at home, so I hope you find some entertainment in this fic.  
> Enjoy x

Rhea Ripley was on her way to the club she always went to on a Friday night. And it was going to be one of legendary nights she’s been having the last three years.

Drinks, party drugs, heavy metal and girls. A lot of girls.

After all, what else were you supposed to do when you’re a college student?

Rhea was born in Australia, but wanted to get away from her strict parents and their lofty expectations. So she applied to study in the US – at Full Sail University in Florida. She moved in with two roommates, the enigmatic Io Shirai and the always cheerful Candice LeRae, and the three have been living together quite happily. Rhea is the loud one, although she would describe herself as brazen. She loved life and by the way everything always fell in place for the tall twenty-one old, you could argue that life loved her back.

She was blessed with good looks, quick wit and crazy athleticism. She was the captain of the girls’ rugby team, playing as a fullback. During the off season, she was a track and field superstar – excelling in javelin and discus. She also made sure her marks were good, even though she wasn’t taking complicated classes. For the past three years Rhea Ripley’s life on campus has been sweet – and Friday nights were always the cherry on top of another good week.

“Are you gonna drink tonight?”, Rhea asks Candice as they get out of the Australian girl’s car and make their way down to the club that was located just a block from where they parked.

“No thank you, I’m just here to dance, not to do anything illegal, thank you very much”, the petite blonde said.

“You’re literally the worst wing woman ever, Cee”, the taller girl jokes and stops to check her hair in the window of a car they pass on their way to the entrance.

“You and I both know you don’t need a wing woman. As a matter of fact, you need the opposite of a wing woman. You need someone to stop you from hitting on everything in a skirt with a pulse”, Candice rolled her eyes as she watches how her friend ogles a group of girls who pass them. “My point exactly”.

“Oh, live a little! You’re only young once and you’re wasting your youth on books and playing video games with Johnny”, Rhea retorted. “One day you’ll be fifty, with a couple of kids and a house in the suburbs and a husband with a beer belly, and you’ll think ‘damn, I should’ve been more like Rhea when I had the chance”.

Candice’s eyes rolled over yet again. She opens her clutch bag and searches for her ID. Rhea’s already shown hers to the bouncer and is already inside when Candice finally gets hold of hers.

She looks around and spots her friend and roommate by the bar, chatting with the bartender.

“There you are! Did the bouncer double check your ID to make sure it wasn’t a fake?”, Rhea jokes and quickly throws back a shot of bright blue liquid. She pulls a face, suggesting that the contents of the glass were quite strong, then motions to the other glass. “That’s for you. I’m not drinking alone again”.

“Rhea, I told you I’m not gonna drink tonight”. Candice smiles at the waitress, who she recognizes as Toni, a girl she has several classes with. She also remembers Toni from catching her trying to creep out of Rhea’s room in the early hours of the morning a few times before.

Rhea shakes her head and picks up the drink she had ordered for the other girl. “More for me then”.

As the night goes on, Rhea moves away from the bar and onto the dance floor. But not to dance – to scout for a potential hook-up. Her height is definitely an advantage in these sorts of situations. She spots Xia, a feisty Chinese exchange student with whom she recently hooked up with. She shakes her head and scans the poorly lit room some more. There’s Tegan, Mia and Chelsea, but she’s been with them all already... and none of them were good enough to go back for seconds.

“Found your latest victim yet?”, Candice asks in a raised voice so her friend can hear her over the loud music

“I need to start hanging out at different places. I know like, every chick here”.

“No one told you to sleep with all of them”, Candice retorts with a smirk.

“Yeah, whatever, I think I should just go home”, the Australian says with a sigh.

“Alright, lemme just run to the restroom real quick and then we can go”, Candice says and makes her way to the ladies’ room.

“You going home alone tonight, Rhea?”, Toni asks casually as she wipes the counter.

“What’s it to you?”, Rhea asks dismissively.

“Just looks like the infamous Rhea Ripley, womanizer extraordinaire has lost her touch. I mean, this wouldn’t be the first time you’ve gone home alone recently”.

Rhea smirks, relaxing a bit. “Maybe I need a new scene. This place only has so many girls”.

Toni clasps her hands together and plasters on a fake smile. “That’s what happens when you have absolutely no self-control and way too much charm for your own good”.

“And if you weren’t dating someone else, you’d be waking up in my bed again, wouldn’t you Toni?”, Rhea asks with a wide grin on her face. She knows she’s right and can tell Toni might even be considering it.

The bartender smiles for real this time and pours Rhea a tequila shot. “One for the road”, she says as she hands the taller girl a slice of lime. “Better luck next time”.

“Are you ready to go?”, Candice asks from behind Rhea. The Australian girl takes her shot and turns around to look at her friend.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here”.

-

“I’m gonna grab some Gatorade, you want anything?”, Rhea asks as she parks the car across the street from a 27/7 convenience store.

“Jawbreakers?”, Candice asks sweetly, batting her eyelids at her best friend.

“You’re such a child”, Rhea teases and slams the door shut.

She quickly makes her way to the store, greeting the owner with a quick thumbs up. She makes her way to the back of the store where the refrigerators are located and takes out three bottles of Gatorade. She then makes her way to the candy section. Before she can find the jawbreakers, her gaze shifts towards a girl clad in skin tight jeans, a black tank top and a red windbreaker. She has caramel skin, dark hair that’s been braided into a long ponytail and strong shoulders. Rhea just knows this is the kinda girl she has to talk to. She places the energy drinks on the nearest shelf and walks over to where the girl is hunched over, checking out the variety of chewing gum.

“I personally think eucalyptus is the way to go, although spearmint remains a classic”, she says with a smile, waiting for the girl to look up.

“Yeah, I don’t need advice on which gum to get, thanks though”, the mystery girl dismisses without as much as lifting her head.

Rhea, still a bit dumbstruck at the girl’s reaction, decides to give it one more try. “Another piece of advice though, you might want to take off the price tags from new clothes”, she says and watches as the girl gets erect and checks her jacket for the tag, which she subsequently pulls off.

“I can’t believe my bitch ass friends let me walk outta the house let that”, she says half annoyed, half embarrassed.

Rhea does her best not to laugh. “Oh, give them a break. You were going out looking like _that_ ”, she vaguely gestures in the other girl’s direction. “Of course they’d be jealous”.

The girl gives Rhea a once over. “They’re both gay dudes, we’re not exactly competing with each other”.

“You know what they say about straight girls who hang out with gay dudes, right?”, Rhea challenges.

“Nope. What do they say?”, the other girl asks with a raised eyebrow. The intense look on her face catches Rhea of guard for a minute and she swallows deeply, her throat drying for no apparent reason. This girl was gorgeous. Big brown eyes, full lips. Rhea knew that if she were to smile, she’d be even more beautiful, if that were possible.

“Uh... they say they’ll never love their boyfriends as much as their gay friends”.

The girl shrugs. “Good thing I’m not a straight girl then”. She doesn’t wait for Rhea to respond – she takes a packet of gum and walks off. The blonde quickly grabs a bag of jawbreakers and briskly walks up behind the mystery girl.

“You don’t drop a bombshell like that and just walk away”, she says from behind the girl, who in turn, turns around to face the Australian.

“And you don’t just follow someone you don’t know around in a store”, she retorts.

“You do if you want their name and number”, Rhea counters.

Now it’s the mystery girl’s turn to wear a look of shock on her face. She hides it under a scowl. “Excuse me?”

“Or maybe just the number. You can text me your name”, Rhea smirks as she closes the gap between them somewhat by taking a step closer.

“You forgot ‘gorgeous’”, Rhea says and tosses her phone at the other girl, who catches it despite her better judgment.

“That shit might work on freshmen or drunk bi-curious girls who watched the new Charlie’s Angels a little too much, but it won’t work on me, sweetie”. The girl gives a self-assured smirk, similar to the one Rhea always wears and the similarity isn’t lost on the Australian.

Rhea takes another step forward. “Why not?”, she asks calmly.

The other girl clears her throat and gives Rhea’s phone back. “Because I’m usually the one that gets the numbers”.

Rhea nods knowingly. “You wouldn’t be the first girl I’ve turned”.

This time the mystery girl does laugh. A loud and slightly obnoxious laugh, that makes Rhea’s heart flutter for some unknown reason.

“You’re something else”, she says with a smile. A smile Rhea was right about.

“My name’s Rhea Ripley and I like to hang out at convenience stores at two in the morning”, she holds out a hand, which the other girl just glances at.

“Bianca”.

“And we have a name. Hallelujah”, Rhea jokes.

“That’s all you’re getting from me... Ripley”, Bianca says and turns around.

“When will I see you again?”, Rhea calls out.

Bianca spins around again and smiles at the blonde. “If you manage to find me again, I’ll buy you a drink, sweetie”.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, this chapter was released a little later than I said, but I was strangely busy this weekend. Anyway, please enjoy chapter two xx

Rhea was laying on the floor, in between the shelves in the library. Io was sitting opposite her, working on her Macbook.

“If I were looking for someone and I only knew their name and what they looked like... how would I go about finding them?”, Rhea asks casually.

“I’m not sure”, Io says, clearly paying attention to her work and not her friend.

“There’s gotta be some way of finding her, right?”, Rhea asks no one in particular. “I tried looking her up on Facebook and Instagram, but it’s really fucking hard without a last name. I’m not even sure if she was real or if she was just a fever dream I had after one too many drinks”.

“Maybe”, Io says and continues typing. 

“You suck, just by the way”. Rhea sighs and rolls onto her stomach. “It’s been four days. This campus is huge and I don’t even know if she goes here”.

Io finally closes her Macbook and looks at her sulking friend. “Just live your life. Maybe you’ll run into her somewhere”.

Rhea sits up and runs her hand through her hair. “I suppose so... there’s not much I can do, is there?”

“No, not really”.

“Well then”, Rhea gets up from the floor, “I need to go, my coach is gonna be pissed if I’m late again”.

“I’ll see you at home”, Io calls out in a hushed tone.

-

Rhea sees that the rest of the javelin athletes are already warming up on the field, so she quickly slips into the dressing room and finds an empty locker. She gets out of her leather shorts and black and grey flannel shirt and puts on dark blue Nike shorts and a matching tank top. As she ties the laces on her spikes, she can hear some of the other athletes talking amongst themselves. 

“Hey Rhea, how’s it hanging?”, Dakota asks as she sits down next to Rhea. 

“A lot better now that you’re here, beautiful”, Rhea says with a wry smile. She had been trying to get with Dakota for half a year now, but the sprinter was playing hard to get.

Dakota, a sophomore who was studying psychology, just shakes her head as she tries to hide her smile. “I haven’t seen you in a while, thought you weren’t training anymore”.

Rhea shrugs. “I was busy with other things”. She applies sunscreen to her arms and grins when she sees Dakota eyeing her toned biceps. 

“What kinda things?”, the brunette asks casually, inspecting the soles of her shoes for some reason.

“Well, why don’t you come over to my room later on tonight and I’ll show you”, Rhea says and gives a wink.

Dakota rolls her eyes and stands up. “I already have plans tonight”, she says cheerily. 

Rhea gives a nod. “I hope your plans don’t let you down then”, the blonde says. She also stands and towers over the much shorter Dakota. “And if they do, you know where to find me”.

-

Rhea was ready to get a mouthful from her coach, Hunter, for not showing up to the last few practice sessions, but as she walks to the edge of the field where the javelin throwers practice, she finds Hunter in deep conversation with somebody else. His large frame is obstructing her view, but when he turns to show a different throwing technique to the other person, Rhea recognizes Bianca in an instant.

She was listening to what Hunter had to say and mentally taking notes, far too concentrated on him to notice Rhea walking up to them.

“Good afternoon, coach”, Rhea says confidently.

Hunter and Bianca both look up and Rhea wishes she could take a picture of the dark haired girl’s face. She looks completely shocked.

“Hey Rhea, nice of you to show up to a session”, Hunter says in a serious tone.

Rhea shrugs. “I had other things going on, coach, I’m sorry”.

“Well, thankfully Bianca here showed up”. Hunter puts a hand on the girl’s back. “And unlike you, she’s eager to learn more and get even better”.

Rhea’s eyes lock with Bianca’s, but then she quickly looks back at her coach. “I’m here now, coach, and I’m ready to train”.

“You’re ten minutes late”, Hunter says with a shake of the head. “I should make you do laps for that”. He takes a step back and gestures to the stack of javelins to his right. “Can you still throw?”

Rhea gives a wry smile. “Does my record still stand?”

“Just throw a javelin, Ripley”, Hunter retorts. He has a smile on his face and Rhea knows everything is already forgotten. That’s just the kind of guy her coach is.

“What do I do, coach?”, Bianca asks suddenly. Rhea almost forget she was there. Almost. 

“You can watch her. Take notes. Rhea’s pretty good”.

Bianca crosses her arms dismissively and takes a step closer to the taller girl. “So am I. University of Tennessee record holder”, she challenges Hunter and Rhea.

“That was there”, Rhea says as she readies herself for her first throw. “This is here”.

Bianca watches as Rhea does her run up and release. Her form is interesting, she’s got good speed and her throw is impressive. But Bianca’s face is unchanged. 

“How ‘bout you go measure that for me, Bianca?”, Rhea jokes and gets a death stare from Bianca in return.

Hunter goes to measure the throw, leaving Rhea and Bianca alone for the first time. Rhea is first to speak. 

“So I guess you owe me a drink now”, she says and nudges Bianca’s shoulder with her own. They were both watching on as Hunter measures.

“You got really fucking lucky”, Bianca says, slightly agitated. She turns to face Rhea, and reaches out to admire Rhea’s ear gauges from close by. She turns back and continues to watch their coach measure Rhea’s throw.

“So, I’ll pick you up at eight tonight?”, Rhea asks.

“I have plans tonight, unfortunately”, Bianca says with a wicked smile. 

Rhea glances over at the other girl. “Where do you come from?”, she asks, almost to no one in particular.

“I’m the woman of your dreams”, Bianca says silkily and gives a devious smirk.

Rhea raises an eyebrow. “I only have nightmares”.

Bianca is about to respond, but Hunter is back with them. 

“Fifty-five meters, Rhea. That’s far from your best, but you’re back in training so it can only improve”. 

Rhea gives a diligent nod. “And don’t worry, coach. I promise I’ll be here every week”, she says with a smile as she glances at Bianca, who simply rolls her eyes.

-

After an hour’s practice with Hunter (and an hour of checking out Bianca’s great body in spandex) Rhea makes her way to the locker room. She left Bianca behind because she was still in conversation with Hunter.

“Hey! Wait up!”, Bianca calls out and puts in a jog to catch up to Rhea.

“Can’t get enough of me, can you?”, Rhea teases. 

“You wish. I just wanted a bit of company and you don’t seem half as bad as I first thought”. Bianca gives Rhea a gentle shove in the back. “Plus, I gotta keep the enemy close”.

Rhea lets out a laugh and puts an arm around Bianca’s shoulder. “I’m not the enemy, babe, we’re a team”.

“First, don’t put your sweaty arms around me”, Bianca says with some distain in her voice as she removes Rhea’s arm from her. “And second, call me babe again, I’ll break your hand”.

Rhea stops in her tracks, jumps out in front of Bianca to obstruct her, and grins down at the caramel skinned girl. “Your threats don’t scare me off, babe, they only make me want this more”.

Bianca smirks, places her hands on Rhea’s hips and slowly runs her tongue across her bottom lip. “Trust me, you don’t want to get involved with me, sweetie, I break hearts”. She unceremoniously drops her hands and brushes past a hapless Rhea.

-

Rhea tries her best not to focus too much on Bianca showering just a few feet away from her. She’s helped by the fact that there are a few girls cleaning themselves up. When she does lose her self-control a bit and quickly glances up at the dark haired girl, she only sees her back glistening under the cool drops of water from the shower. 

As Rhea gets dressed, she notices Dakota and Bianca talking. The psychology major is all smiles and it seems like Bianca is really turning on the charm with her. Rhea decides to keep an eye on the scene as it plays out in front of her. When Bianca walks out of the locker room, Rhea follows.

“What was that all about?”, the Australian asks as she catches up to Bianca.

“I knew you were watching; I just knew it!”, Bianca says with a smile. “She’s cute, ain’t she?”. Bianca hastens her walk, but Rhea does too.

“She’s alright, but she’s not interested in anything with anyone as far as I know”, Rhea says.

Bianca smiles mischievously. “Then why did she agree to go out with me tonight? I mean, I asked her the other day and she was very keen”. 

“She’s the plans you have tonight?”, Rhea asks, half annoyed and the other half, strangely impressed. She sure couldn’t get Dakota Kai to go out with her.

“Yeah, but don’t worry, you can play with her once I’m done having my fun”, Bianca says with a w ink before disappearing behind the sports administration building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading xx  
> As always, drop a comment, I always appreciate those. Leave a kudos if you enjoyed the fic. 
> 
> Stay safe wherever y'all are x


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!  
> Latest chapter is ready for you guys x  
> I hope y'all enjoy

Rhea felt like drinking that night.

She was pissed that she couldn’t get Dakota to go out with her and that Bianca found it so easy. But even more so, she was really pissed that Bianca would rather go out with someone else rather than her. She wasn’t used to women saying no to her. 

One thing was for certain though, now, maybe even more than ever, she wanted Bianca.

It wasn’t just a weird obsession she had with finding the girl from the convenience store. Now it was a mission to find out who this girl is, where she comes from and how to woo her to the point where she wanted no one else but Rhea.

Bianca was unlike any other girl Rhea ever encountered. It was as if she was exactly like her. She was cold and cunning and bossy and bitchy. She was charming and sexy and sneaky. Most of all she was dangerous. And Rhea liked dangerous.

The Australian girl put on her headphones and listened to the grungiest rock she could find, all the while, the wheels in her head were turning. She had the figure out a way to make the tough, slick- talking Bianca weak. Her usual aloof and mysterious act wouldn’t work on Bianca. Neither would her alluring glances, cute compliments and faux romantic persona. She would have to try something new – something different. 

-

Rhea was excited about going to javelin practice for the first time in a long time. She spent the morning working out in the gym to make sure she looked good and that she was ready to compete with Bianca. Maybe even in more ways than one.

She’s on the field early, even before Hunter’s there. While going through her usual paces, she spots Bianca jogging towards her. It had been a week since Rhea had seen her and she was itching to talk to her again. To find out how her evening with Dakota went. To find out if she would have drinks with her this time.

“Hey, baby girl, you’re here early”, Bianca says in her sing-song voice. “Who you trying to impress?”, she asks and pokes Rhea on the chest.

The blonde grins and puts a hand on Bianca’s hip. “If you wanted to touch me that bad, you should’ve just asked, babe”, she says as she leans into Bianca even more.

The shorter girl shoves Rhea away, smiling while sizing the girl up. “Trust me, if I wanted you, you’d be mine already”.

“Oh is that what you think?”, Rhea asks teasingly. 

Bianca snakes an arm around Rhea’s neck and pulls her head closer, their lips mere inches away from each other. “Do you want me to show you?”, she asks softly.

Rhea intakes a sharp breath and puts her other hand on the small of Bianca’s back. “Why don’t _I_ show _you_?”, she asks and brushes her lips against Bianca’s before letting go of her and taking a step back. The Australian wears her usual smirk and winks at Bianca, who’s still not sure how to react after what had just happened. 

Hunter shows up before anything else can happen between the two athletes. They train for forty-five minutes before he sends them to the locker room to clean up. Rhea knows she won their most recent battle. So she briskly walks off and waits for Bianca to catch up to her. 

“You’re in a hurry today”, Bianca says as she walks beside Rhea.

The taller of the two girls glances over her companion. “I have things to do”, Rhea answers coolly before brushing passed Bianca into the locker room. 

The dark skinned girl follows Rhea inside and starts stripping off her tights and t-shirt. She glances over at Rhea, who’s already naked and checking the temperature of the shower before hopping in. 

Bianca looks around in the locker room and notices there’s no one else there. She walks over and decides to use the shower right next to Rhea’s. 

“So are we gonna discuss what happened back there?”, Bianca starts.

“What happened?”, Rhea asks and lathers shampoo into her hair.

“You almost kissed me”, Bianca says nonchalantly, then quickly looks up to see Rhea’s reaction.

The blonde scoffs. “That was not an almost kiss”.

Bianca lets outs a laugh and turns to face Rhea. She allows her eyes to wander up and down the other girl’s body and she bites at her lower lip, appreciating the sight. Clearing her throat first, she says “That was very much an almost kiss and you know it”.

Rhea runs a hand through her wet hair and focuses her eyes on Bianca. She shows more restraint and doesn’t check her out and she knows it’s secretly annoying Bianca that she seems unfazed by her stark naked and glistening wet body. “I’m like that with all girls”.

“I’m sure you are, but I’m not them. You might charm the panties off of them, but not me”. Bianca takes a step closer to Rhea. “So just know, none of your games will work on me”.

Rhea fakes a laugh. “But I like games”, she says calmly. “Especially games I know I’m gonna win”.

“And please, please, please tell me how you plan on winning this game?”, Bianca poses.

Rhea gives a shrug. “By making you fall in love with me”, she says simply. 

Bianca gives a wide smile and takes a step back so that she’s back underneath the shower head. “I don’t fall in love”.

“Challenge accepted”.

Bianca glances over at Rhea again and gives a wry smile. “I guess the best woman will win then”.

-

Rhea had learned Bianca’s last name from Hunter. Belair. And with a last name, Rhea could do an online search and find out a little more about her. Her Instagram revealed that she was studying fashion design and that meant she would most likely be found at the arts building on campus. She also liked Mexican food and a food truck, La Muñeca’s, was her favourite. The truck would stand near the park that was just a few blocks away from the main administration building of the university. That would be Rhea’s best bet to find Bianca.

It was Thursday and Rhea only had a late class in the afternoon. She decided to drag Io and Candice to the courtyard outside the design faculty, so she could see if Bianca was around. her two friends and roommates reluctantly agreed.

“This is a little, _extremely_ stalker-y, don’t you think?”, Candice asks and takes a sip of Pepsi. 

“Nah, this is just... surveillance. And a girl like Bianca would approve of this”, Rhea says with a grin. “She’d probably do the same if she hasn’t already”.

Io rolls her eyes and continues reading her book of the week. This time it’s Ulysses.

“Why don’t you ask for her number and then text her, you know, like a normal, non-creepy person?”, Candice queries, her eyes hopeful that Rhea will realize this is a weird plan and call time on their stake-out.

“It’s not that simple. Nothing is that simple with this girl”. Rhea’s eyes are focused on the cafe where most of the art students have lunch. She sees someone dressed in a red skin tight dress with black sneakers and sunglasses on. It’s Bianca and she’s flanked by two guys. They’re making their way down the pathway which goes through the courtyard.

“That’s her”, Rhea says in a loud whisper.

“She seems...”, Candice’s eyes follow those of Rhea’s. “...understated”.

“I’m going in – I’ll see you bitches on the other side”, the brash Australian says and makes her way over to where Bianca and her friends are walking.

When Bianca notices Rhea, her smile grows into a smirk. She leans in to whisper something to her one friend and then crosses her arms as Rhea comes closer and closer.

“Beautiful day isn’t it?”, Rhea asks and smiles brightly. “I thought I’d get some fresh air... didn’t fancy running into you here”. She stands with her hands on her hips and nods hello’s to Bianca’s two friends.

“Yeah, it’s a real coincidence”, Bianca says in a fake sweet voice. “We were actually on our way to the other side of campus, they’ve got the best sushi”.

“I could go for some sushi right now”, Rhea says, still smiling.

Bianca turns to her one friend and says, “You guys go ahead, this’ll just take a second”. 

The two guys do as they’re told and walk off till they’re about ten feet away.

“Well played, Ripley. I didn’t think you’d go so far as to stalk me, but I clearly underestimated you”. Bianca crosses her arms to her chest. “But this doesn’t mean that you’re in the lead”.

“Oh, I don’t care about leads, I just really want some sushi right now”, Rhea says and crosses her arms too.

“Not today”, Bianca says and pouts. “But If you’re free tomorrow night, I know this really nice place that serves the best tapas – I’d love to take you there”.

Rhea has to bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

Bianca nods.

“No, baby, _I_ ask _you_ out on dates”, Rhea counters. “How about you come over to my place and I wine and dine you for an entire evening?”

Bianca takes off her sunglasses and looks Rhea square in the face. “If that’s your line to pull women, you must be a virgin still”, she says with a nasty smirk on her face.

“I am, please be my first”, Rhea says with hands clasped together.

“Look, I’m going to La Sombra tomorrow night. Either you show up, or I go home with someone else”. Bianca gives a wink and walks off, joining her two friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading x  
> As always, leave a kudos or a comment if you're into that sort of thing.  
> Stay safe, stay home and we'll all get through this together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, decided to post the new chapter today because I'll be busy the entire weekend. Happy reading x

Bianca wasn’t sure what to expect. On the one hand she wanted Rhea to show up so that they could sit down and have an actual conversation. On the other hand she just wanted to taunt the girl and have fun with her. She wanted to know if Rhea really was her equal. She also didn’t want to be stood up because that would shift the power dynamic back to Rhea who had the power first when she almost kissed Bianca. But after her invitation to the restaurant, Bianca felt like she was in control again. If Rhea really was her equal, she’d be a no-show. For some reason Bianca just had faith that the Australian would show up.

“What are you wearing on your date?”, Tyler asked two hours earlier.

“It’s not a date, it’s a face-off”, Bianca said calmly as she went through her wardrobe.

“Face-off? Girl, this is a date. You’ve been going on dates twice a week every week since you’ve gotten here”.

Bianca holds up a short purple dress, but then decides against it. “She’s unlike the others, Ty. This one’s a challenge”. She picks a gold sequin number next and turns to show it to Tyler.

He clasped his hands together. “Gorgeous”.

So now Bianca was sitting at a table, wearing a short and sexy golden dress, stiletto heels and gorgeous make-up, expertly applied by her other bestie Isaiah. Waiting on a girl she wasn’t even sure she liked at all.

Sure, Rhea Ripley had piqued her interest and there was something different about her, but she wasn’t the girls Bianca usually went for. First of all, the girl was a giant. Half the time she looked like she was gonna kick your ass just for staring at her for too long. She was rough and brash and over-confident. It was scary and alluring all in one.

That’s what pulled Bianca in.

She checked the time on her phone. 19:25. She had been waiting for twenty minutes and she would give Ripley another five before she cut her loses and left.

Just as she takes her last sip of red wine, she looks up and sees Rhea walking towards her table. The blonde’s shaved sides hairstyle was slicked back and she wore a simple but elegant looking black mini dress. Black stockings and Doc Martens rounded off the look.

“Good evening”, Rhea says casually and shuffles into the booth with Bianca. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long”, she says with a hint of amusement in her voice.

“No, I just got here actually”, Bianca counters.

“Hmm, the empty wine glass says otherwise but okay”, Rhea notes and beckons the waiter over. She orders a bottle of red and requests menus, easily taking over the date, much to Bianca’s annoyance.

“I invited you here. You’re my guest”. Bianca fiddles with her bracelet as she says this.

“So is this a date?”, Rhea asks, half playing, half genuinely wondering. 

“This is whatever you want it to be, sweetie”, Bianca says and runs a hand along Rhea’s bicep. “You clean up nicely”, she croons into Rhea’s ear.

“I wasn’t sure what the dress code was”, Rhea says, deciding to ignore the compliment and not give one in return.

The waiter shows up with the wine and menus. Rhea waves him off and pours the wine herself, secretly enjoying how much it irks Bianca. “I think the chorizo and black olive pizza looks good”.

Bianca finishes off her wine and pours another glass. “I’ll have my usual: seared scallops and asparagus”.

“Be careful though, asparagus is a known aphrodisiac. I wouldn’t want you all horny by the end of our... meal”.

Bianca takes a big sip of wine. “No chance of that happening”. She says it with such a straight face that it slightly amuses Rhea to the point where she has to hide the small smile that had started to form on her lips.

They order food and sit in a slightly awkward silence for a few long seconds. 

“So you and Dakota...” Rhea takes a sip of wine and tries to gage Bianca’s initial reaction. She has none.

“What about it?”

“Did you two hit it off?”, the blonde asks her companion.

“She’s a sweet girl and she’s really up for anything in bed, which is great news for me, but we’re not gonna be exchanging vows anytime soon”. Bianca gives a wry smile. “So by all means, go for it”.

Rhea shakes her head in the negative. “I don’t want her”.

“But you did”.

“That’s changed”.

“Why?”

“Cos you had her”.

“So?”

Rhea pauses and then spots the waiter arriving with their food.

They both forget about what they were talking about and get stuck into their plates. Bianca calls the waiter over to bring a bottle of white wine so she can eat it with her scallops. Once he brings the bottle and pours her a glass and makes his way back to the kitchen, Bianca sees an opportunity to rile Rhea up once again.

“So, Rhea, what’s this I hear about you being the resident bad girl around campus? You almost got expelled twice, right?”

Rhea almost chokes on a piece of chorizo. She coughs and takes a ship of water before wiping her mouth with a serviette. 

“You’re not the only one who’s been doing some detective work”, Bianca says with a sly smile on her face. “Wanna tell me all about your days as a wild youth?”

“I’d rather not”, Rhea says and takes a sip of wine. “Wouldn’t want to corrupt your innocent mind”.

Bianca smiles and rests her head on her palm. “I promise if you tell me, I’ll reveal one of my secrets to you”.

Rhea considers it for half a second. She’s about to come up with a snarky one-liner which would place the ball back in Bianca’s court, but then she looks up right into Bianca’s big eyes and she glances down and her full red lips. Her mind flashes back to earlier in the week when their lips brushed against each other’s. 

“I used to live in the campus dorms and I’d have really loud parties. One day of the RA’s came to shut the party down, and she found a couple ounces of weed in my room. It was mine and they were gonna expel me, but coach Hunter promised them he’d keep me on the straight and narrow and that I’d be an asset to the school with my athletic prowess”.

Bianca nods. “And what about the other time?”

This time Rhea gives a lopsided smile. “That one was about a girl, but I’m not telling you anything”.

Bianca takes her fork, stabs a scallop and holds the seafood out for Rhea to eat. The blonde rolls her eyes, but takes the whole scallop in her mouth. 

“I’ll tell you half a secret about me then”, she says and drinks the last contents of her glass. “I’m super gay”, she says with a giggle, one which catches Rhea off guard. 

“Clearly”, the blonde says amused. “Look at your fingernails”, she says with a laugh.

Bianca fakes an upset pout, then smiles despite trying hard not to. 

-

The bill arrives shortly after and Bianca settles it before Rhea could even say anything. 

“I invited you, so I pay. It’s only fair”, she says as they make their way out of the booth. “I need to call an Uber”, she says to no one in particular. 

“That’s fine, I have my car here. Let me take you home”, Rhea suggests. 

They step out on the pavement, with the cool autumn night air hitting them. “No, I live on the south side of campus, it’s too much of a hassle”, Bianca begins, but Rhea’s having none of it.

“It’s not that far away from where I live, and I don’t mind taking a detour. I don’t trust Ubers with hot and tipsy girls”. Rhea grabs a hold of Bianca’s hand and leads her down the street to where the car stands. “Don’t be stubborn, just let me give you a ride”.

Bianca rolls her eyes, but allows herself to be lead by Rhea.

“You drank a little too much, didn’t you?”, Rhea asks with a smile.

“I might have pre-gamed a little”, Bianca admits, laughing. “I guess I was a little nervous about going out with you”, she says softly.

“You’re bullshitting me aren’t you?”

“Of course I am, Rhea”, Bianca laughs and rests her head on the taller girl’s shoulder for half a second. 

Rhea opens the passenger’s side door for Bianca and then makes her way to the other side. Once she’s in the car, she turns it on and checks her mirrors before reversing out.

Bianca gives directions, but other than that it’s a quiet drive. 

“So you live in an apartment?”, Bianca asks.

“Near campus, yes”. Rhea makes a right as Bianca instructed and slowly pulls up at the block of dorm rooms where Bianca resides. “Here we are”.

Bianca looks out the window and then back at Rhea. “Thanks for the ride”, she says and runs a hand down Rhea’s arm. 

“No worries”, Rhea says and leans in closer. She’s so close that she can feel Bianca’s breathe on her neck. “Can I kiss you?”, she asks, half uncertain, half excited at the prospect.

Bianca bites her lip for a second before replying. “Nope”. She shakes her head and laughs. “You don’t ask permission to kiss a girl”.

Rhea shrugs. “You do if you don’t wanna be a pervert”.

Bianca rolls her eyes. “If you wanna kiss a girl, you kiss a girl”, she says and leans in to place a chaste kiss on Rhea’s lips. She smiles into the kiss and it allows Rhea to deepen their snog. She captures Bianca’s upper lip in between hers and silently gasps at the taste of wine on the other girl’s lips. 

Bianca snakes a hand around Rhea’s neck and then grabs her by her nape, pulling her in closer. She enjoys the feeling of being in control again. She quickly pulls back and grins at the disappointed look on Rhea’s face. 

“Tease”, the blonde says and tries to hide her true feelings with a vicious smirk.

“You liked it a little too much, Ripley. I had to stop or else you’d fall for me right here and now and that would end our little game”. Bianca unbuckled the seatbelt and grabs her clutch from beside her. “I have to go, goodnight baby girl”. She winks before making her way out of the car and slamming Rhea’s door for good measure.

The Aussie is still a little too flustered to care. She watches Bianca walk away for a few long seconds before deciding that it might look too much like caring and drives off.

Well, that was certainly different, Rhea thinks to herself as she drives home. 

She kissed Bianca Belair for the first time and she could already tell it would soon become her favourite thing in the world. She needed more and a part of her was ready to throw in the towel, admit defeat and just allow Bianca to use her in every which way. But she knew she had to be strong – getting Bianc a was the main goal, but having her fall for her would be even sweeter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading x


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again x I hope you are all doing well and in good spirits.
> 
> This week's chapter was a lot of fun to write!
> 
> Happy reading x

_**RiptideRhea**_ : You doing anything tonight?

Rhea waits patiently for Bianca to respond. 

She decided to direct message the girl the following day, just to make sure that they were still playing their little game (and because she wanted to know how she was doing, if she was being honest with herself).

 _ **BiancaEst98**_ : It’s Saturday night, of course I’ve got plans.

 _ **RiptideRhea**_ : Do your plans include me?

 _ **BiancaEst98**_ : Do you want them to?

Rhea considers her options. She could play along and make Bianca think that she’s suddenly gone soft and submissive or she could give her the old bait and switch and make it seem like she’s not really that interested.

 _ **RiptideRhea**_ : I was actually just checking, because I’m going to a house party with my friends and I didn’t want you to make plans that included me cos then I would have to disappoint you.

 _ **BiancaEst98**_ : Ah! The good old bait and switch? A classic.

Rhea can’t help but laugh at how quickly Bianca caught on. This girl really was just like her – it was almost scary.

 _ **RiptideRhea**_ : You’re not as good as you think you are. I’m actually going to a house party at a sorority later.

 _ **BiancaEst98**_ : A sorority? Sounds like fun.

 _ **RiptideRhea**_ : Yeah and I promise to have enough fun for the both of us.

Rhea tosses her phone on the bed and goes to shower. She hopes the new information will trigger some sort of jealousy or envy in Bianca that would allow her to once again be the one with all the power. She finishes up, goes to find an outfit for the evening and then does her hair, before checking on Bianca’s reply. When she finally checks it, she gives a smirk.

Bianca had sent her a bathroom mirror selfie of her in nothing but a lacy red bra and matching panties. The raunchy picture is captioned: _Imagine coming home to this. If you strike out on sorority row – you know where to find me_

-

Rhea sits on a sofa with two other girls, holding a beer in the hand. Across the room she sees Io and a guy she knows as Finn in deep conversation. Candice was in the games room playing pool with her boyfriend Johnny. The music was loud, but still not loud enough to distract Rhea from her thoughts. She kept thinking about Bianca and whether or not she should go there and...

“Hey, what the heck is your problem? You look like you’d rather be anywhere else”, Candice asks out of nowhere. Rhea looks up and sees her friend standing in front of her.

“I’m just thinking”, Rhea dismisses.

“Oh come on, this is a great party. With free drinks and hot girls – you live for this kinda thing”. Candice grabs Rhea by the leather jacket. “Come on, we’re gonna go do some shots”.

“You don’t drink”, Rhea has to remind her best friend. 

“Yeah, but _you_ do. Now let’s go, geez”.

-

After three shots and half an ecstasy pill, Rhea was beginning to transform into the party Rhea of old. She was dancing, chatting up girls and all because she decided to put Bianca and their contest on the back burner for the first time in a long time.

“So how come I’ve never seen you around before?”, the tall Australian asked a girl with bright green hair and a young and innocent looking face.

“I don’t usually go to a lot of parties. I’d much rather stay at home and read”, the girl says. “I know it’s kinda boring and...”

“Are you kidding?”, Rhea gave a sweet smile and ran a hand through the girl’s hair. “You’re so interesting. So different. Right now, sitting here with you, it’s like we’re the only two people in the room”. She smiles brightly when the girl gives a shy nod. “Hey, do you wanna go someplace more... quiet?”

The girl wanted to say yes – Rhea could see it in her eyes. But there was also some reservation. 

“If you don’t, it’s totally cool, but I just wanted a place where I could really hear you, you know? The real you... I wanna know everything about you”. Rhea takes the girl’s hand in hers. “We could sit on the front of my car, looking up at the stars”.

The girl gave an assured nod. “Okay, yeah... let’s go”.

-

Rhea wakes up half naked on the backseat of her car. Next to her is some girl she knows she’s hooked up with, naked from the waist down. The Australian reaches forward to grab her phone off the floor and checks the time. It’s 03:55 and she has no idea where the car is parked or how it got there. She puts on her shirt and wakes the other girl. 

“Wh-what happened? Where are we?”, the girl asks as she wipes her eyes.

“I think I drove to the lake not far from the sorority”, Rhea figures and gets out of the car, only to slide into the driver’s seat and put the car in ignition. “Get dressed, I’m taking you home”.

The girl gave a lazy smile as she pulls on her shorts. “That was fun”. 

Rhea gives a nod. “Yeah, we should do it again soon”. 

-

Bianca spent her Saturday night in her bed, watching Netflix and wondering what Rhea was doing and with who she was with. 

At first she was pissed at herself for feeling even a little bit jealous. Then she decided her feelings were valid – she was a hunter and she competitive. She had her sights set on Rhea Ripley and she wanted her to submit. Before then, Rhea Ripley was the only woman she was going to occupy herself with. She hoped Rhea felt the same way about her.

The Sunday Bianca went for her usual jog around the track. She does two laps and decides to head back to her dorm, walking a different route so she can pick up a smoothie on her way home.

The cafe is rather empty and as she waits in line, she spots a dishevelled Rhea Ripley sitting at a table in the corner with an extra large coffee in front of her. 

Bianca orders and pays for her blueberry smoothie before walking over to the blonde.

“Late night?”, she asks and shifts into a chair opposite Rhea.

Without looking up, Rhea nods and takes another glug of coffee.

“You’re not gonna talk to me now?”, Bianca teases and sips from her smoothie. 

“I’m hungover, I won’t be great company today”.

“You’re never great company, Ripley. That’s what I like about you”. Bianca shoves the smoothie over to Rhea. “Smoothie?” 

Rhea sighs and looks at Bianca for the very first time. She does her best to hide the smile that was beginning to form on her face when she sees the girl in front of her. “You look hot”, she says and drinks more coffee. 

Bianca is taken aback, but then she realizes that Rhea was referring to her sweaty body and slightly heavy breathing from her jog which has turned into a run. “I did a few laps around the track this morning”.

“Okay, but I actually meant you look real sexy today. I love that colour on you”. Rhea takes Bianca’s hand in hers and runs her thumb across the back of the other girl’s hand. “Red seems to be your colour”, Rhea says and nods towards her cell phone which lays on the table next to her coffee. 

Bianca pulls her hand away and raises an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you’re referring to”.

“Your selfie from last night? I was tempted, I won’t lie”. Rhea finishes off her coffee and leans back in her chair. 

Bianca can feel something in the pit of her stomach, something like nerves or... She immediately decides it’s not butterflies. How could it be?

“You didn’t come over though”, the darker girl says and clears her throat. “Which is fine. I’ll let you have your fun”.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”, Rhea asks, genuinely interested in why Bianca said it. 

“Well, once you’re in my grasp, you’re not gonna want any other woman”. Bianca drinks from her smoothie and laughs at the perplexed look on Rhea’s face. 

“W-what?”, is all Rhea can muster. She leans forward and rests her head on her palm. “You’re so full of yourself, it’s kind of off-putting”.

“Then you find yourself off-putting, Ripley, because I’m just like you”, Bianca says in a matter-of-fact way. 

Rhea smiles and looks into Bianca’s eyes, something she hadn’t done before. For a few seconds she gets lost in them and forgets where she is. “You are, aren’t you?” Rhea gets out of her seat, grabs her phone from the table and smiles down at Bianca. “I’ve got things to do – I’ll see you around”.

Bianca blows her a kiss and watches as she walks out of the cafe. 

Once Bianca can see her anymore, she lets out a breath she doesn’t even know she was holding. Rhea Ripley had a weird effect on her and she wasn’t sure why. There was just something about the way she looked at Bianca – like she could see right through her. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.
> 
> As always, kudos are always welcome and comments are just a bonus really. 
> 
> Have a great week x


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I know i haven't been updating the fic in a while, but I was really busy with exams. I'm back now and I'm really excited to continue this fic.  
> We've reached the halfway mark of the story already and this was a really fun chapter to write.  
> Enjoy x

Rhea Ripley never got jealous.

When she found out that her very first girlfriend, a lanky brunette named Peyton, cheated on her with some bimbo called Billie, she decided to get even instead of mad and slept with a few other girls before breaking up with Peyton.

She didn’t mind being the other woman either. She just wanted to have fun and if she was wrecking a “happy home”, the problems lay with the couple and not with her. As long as she got what she wanted, she didn’t really care.

But this time was different.

It started when she saw Bianca at javelin training the next week. They didn’t flirt while they were training, because Hunter was there, but afterwards Bianca didn’t go to the locker room to shower. When Rhea direct messaged her to ask if she wanted to go out for drinks, she didn’t reply, but later that day she posted a picture of herself and another girl hugging in front of a restaurant. The name of the place wasn’t visible so Rhea had no idea where they were. The girl wasn’t tagged either and Rhea didn’t know who she was. She had dirty blonde hair and arms full of tattoos.

 _Well then… She looks like a discount me_ , the Australian thought and snickered so loud, Candice looked up from her iPad and tried to figure out what was wrong with her best friend.

Rhea shrugged it off as Bianca playing more mind games, so she went out for dinner with Io and Finn.

Even though she was having fun with them, she kept thinking about Bianca and why she didn’t respond to her message. Was she too busy on her date with the girl? What exactly were they doing? Why was she so upset by this?

Io then asked her escort her to the restroom. Once they got there, Io grabbed Rhea by the shoulders forcefully.

“What’s the matter with you?!”, the Japanese woman asked.

Rhea was rocked for a bit. “Nothing! What are you on about mate?”

“I brought you here to make things less awkward, but you are saying nothing”. Io paced around in the bathroom.

“Really Io?”. Rhea shook her head. “You’re nervous about this date and now you’re projecting that on me. I think you need to chill”.

Io rolled her eyes and went to wash her hands. “Pull yourself together, okay?”

Rhea sighed and gave a nod.

For the rest of the night she tried to be a good wing woman. This was Io’s first date in a long time and Finn seemed like a really nice guy. They ordered a large plate of cheesy nachos and beers and Finn told them all about growing up in Ireland and his travels around the word, that included Japan, Io’s place of birth. Rhea liked Finn and hoped Io did as well.

When they drove home later that night, the blonde’s mind was still on Bianca’s date with the girl who looked like she could be on hard drugs.

“That was fun. I enjoyed his company”, Io said and smiled while looking out the window.

“I’m glad. He seems like a good guy. And to be honest, you’ve been single for way too long”, Rhea said. Her eyes were locked on the road ahead of them but every time they drove passed a streetlight, she’s she’d quickly gaze over at the illumination. It was something she had always done, ever since she was a little girl. The lights distracted her on the long drives from Melbourne to Sydney when she was leaving her mother to go stay with her dad for the school holidays.

“What’s wrong?”, her friend asked, looking over to the driver’s seat.

Rhea shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going on with me tonight, sorry if I was a bummer”. Io said something back, but Rhea was already zoned out, thinking about Bianca again.

When they got home, Rhea grabbed a beer from the fridge and watched cartoons. She wanted to check Instagram, but she knew it would just upset her if she saw Bianca with that chick again. She shifted around in bed before eventually falling asleep.

-

 _Would it really be that bad if I was actually just jealous?_ Rhea thought as she made her way to the campus gym the next morning. She was still vexed by the idea of Bianca ghosting her and then spending time with someone else. She thought they were both invested in this little game. She thought Bianca wanted to win – wanted to make Rhea fall in love with her just as much as Rhea wanted her to. The blonde shook her head as if to rid herself from all these thoughts.

The gym was rather empty when Rhea walked through the doors. There were some people on the treadmills, some on the ellipticals and a few were lifting some weights. That was where Rhea was headed.

Looking through the racks for the perfect weights to start off her set, she was blindsided when she looked up and saw Bianca Belair by the window, riding a stationary bike. Rhea wanted so badly to just ignore her and go about her business. But as always, something drew her to Bianca. Something she still could not explain. She sighed and decided to walk over.

Bianca was wearing a sports bra and tight gym shorts, a thin layer of sweat visible on her brown skin. Rhea was pissed at her but could still appreciate how sexy she looked on that bike. The Aussie woman calmly stepped in front of the bike so Bianca had no choice but to look at her.

Rhea gave a cocky smile.

Bianca, taking out her AirPods, stopped pedalling and gave a grin of her own. “Why hello there, Rhea. Long time no see”, she said in a cloyingly sweet tone. “You look lovely this morning”.

“You look really…” Rhea gave Bianca another onceover. “…very sweaty”.

“I know right? It must drive you crazy”.

Rhea lifted an inquiring eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Bianca sighed. “I know you love it when I show off my strength and stamina. I know how much it turns you on”. Bianca worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Don’t even try to deny it”.

Rhea tilted her head slightly and really looked at Bianca’s smug face. “You’re so full of shit”, she said with a sardonic laugh.

“And you’re in your feelings cos I ignored the last couple of days”, Bianca mentioned casually as she got of the bike and shrugged her way passed Rhea and walked over to the water cooler.

Rhea rolled her eyes, hot on the heels of Bianca.

“Yeah, well… you missed out on a really fun time with me”, the blonde said coolly. “But I’m not too bothered about it. It’s your loss”.

Bianca shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, Ripley, I had a pretty good time myself”. She drank from her paper cup, but Rhea could see she was smiling.

“You’re… you’re insufferable!”, Rhea burst out saying before she could stop herself.

“Mmm… you seem pretty _bothered_ to me”, Bianca teased. She took a step closer to Rhea to close the gap between them. She ran her hand along Rhea’s arm. “I needed you to see how much I really meant to you”, she all but whispered into Rhea’s ear.

The blonde swallowed deeply.

“And now that you see it, you need to show me why you’re the only women that should matter me”. Bianca turned to walk away, but was halted by Rhea’s strong hand around the nape of her neck.

“Are you gonna see her again?”

Bianca found the sensation of Rhea grabbing at her neck too titillating. “No, never”.

Rhea allowed her hand to slowly work its way down Bianca’s spine. “Good”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading. Drop a kudos if you enjoyed the fic and comment if you wanna get in touch and chat about the fic.  
> Hope everyone is staying safe x


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I know I haven't posted in a while, apologies, but life happens.  
> Anyway, here's a nice long chapter for you to enjoy.

Bianca wasn’t sure what to make of her earlier interaction with Rhea. Like all their meetings, it had been tense and charged with an energy Bianca could never explain. All she knew was that she would give anything to see that fiery look in Rhea’s eyes again. A riled-up Rhea Ripley was something she couldn’t get enough of.

“Who are you daydreaming of?”, Tyler asked suddenly. Bianca had forgotten he was even there.

“No one in particular”, she said casually.

“Are you sure it’s not Jessamyn? You two seemed to really hit it off the other night”.

“I’m not seeing her again”, Bianca said as she scrolled through her text messages.

“Why not?”, Tyler asked as he cuddled up next to her.

“Because…”, Bianca began, “I never liked her. I was using her to make someone else jealous”.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. “That’s very junior high of you”.

Bianca agreed. “I don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into, it’s kind of stupid the more I think about it”.

She would rather admit that she was embroiled in childish escapades with Rhea than admit she cared about the Australian woman more than she led on.

She decided to text her, hoping they could have dinner and discuss what happened in the gym. She needed affirmation that she wasn’t the only one feeling different.

After typing and retyping a text to send Rhea, Bianca finally goes with ‘meet up at the track in an hour?’ and hoped for a quick response so she won’t be left tortured waiting on the Australian. When she doesn’t get a message back within an hour, she decided to go to the track anyway, even if it was just to run off the frustration of Rhea not responding.

-

Rhea found herself at the track, watching some other students practicing and doing laps. She was in no mood to train and was really just there because Bianca told her to come. She didn’t respond because she was still pissed off at Bianca and wanted to punish her just a bit more.

Rhea spotted Bianca making her way up the bleachers. She was in athletic gear and had a gym bag with her. Rhea tried to look relaxed as she leaned back against her seat.

“Fancy seeing you here”, Rhea called out and a grin had formed on her face. Bianca just rolled her eyes as she sat down next to Rhea.

“You’re such a bitch”, Bianca said.

“Why did you wanna see me?”, Rhea asked and turned slightly so she could see Bianca.

“We need to talk about… us”, Bianca said after careful contemplation.

Rhea raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think there was an us”.

“There isn’t…”, Bianca shrugged and met Rhea’s gaze. “…but would it really be so bad if there was?” She shook her head and gave a half smile. “I mean, I spent a weekend trying to make you jealous… That’s not normal behaviour for me”. Bianca looked down, hoping Rhea’s eyes were still on her. “You just have this crazy effect on me, Rhea”. She glanced up again.

Rhea swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure how to feel, what to do or even where to look.

“And look, I know this started out as a stupid game or a challenge or whatever, but if you want this is as much as I do, maybe we should just go for it”. Bianca left her hand on Rhea’s knee.

The Australian gave a slow nod, allowed her hand to travel up to Bianca’s cheek and stroke the other woman’s face. She leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on Bianca’s lips. She smiled and said “Nice try”, before sitting back.

Bianca rolled her eyes and sighed. “I really thought you would fall for that”. She doesn’t mean to, but she starts laughing.

Rhea couldn’t help but smile as she watched Bianca in her fit of giggles.

“You’re a lot smarter than you look, Ripley”, Bianca admitted. She wiped a tear from her eye. “We’re so fucking stupid”, she mused.

“We really are”, Rhea agreed and nudged Bianca’s knee with her own. “You wanna go out tonight?”, she asked casually.

Bianca thought about it for a few seconds. “I already have plans…”

“Oh not this again!”, Rhea said annoyed. “Don’t try to make me jealous again, I thought we decided that you weren’t gonna do that anymore”.

“I’m not trying to do that. I actually have to study for a test I’m writing in a few days. We are at a university after all”.

“What about this weekend? We could do something fun”.

Bianca narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You mean like a date?”

Rhea wasn’t sure how to respond, but then she looked at Bianca’s face, with the last few rays of the sun shining off her darker skin. “Er… I suppose so, yeah. It’s a date”.

Bianca gave a small smile. “Can’t wait”. She got up and started stretching. “Look after my stuff while I do a few laps”, Bianca demanded.

“Screw you and your stuff”, Rhea said, but just as she wanted to get up, Bianca sat down on her lap and ran her hand through Rhea’s hair.

“Don’t be rude”, Bianca said with a vicious smirk on her face.

Rhea cleared her throat. “One lap”, she tried to say with as much bravado as she could muster. “Because you still have to go study for that test”.

Bianca gave a wink and stood up. “Okay, babe”. She made her way down the first few steps before turning around one more time. “And um… maybe we’ll continue that little lap dance someday”.

A dumbfounded Rhea could only nod as she watched Bianca run off.

-

“You’re coming down with something”, Candice said as she watched Rhea blow her nose while sitting on the couch.

“No, I’m not. I never get sick”, Rhea was busy looking up restaurants near campus. She wanted to try something different for her date with Bianca. She was planning a fun day out – a hike in a nature reserve, lunch in the park, tickets to the university’s women’s soccer team’s first game of the season and then dinner. She knew Bianca would like that.

“You look terrible, you’re all snotty and I heard you throw up this morning”.

“Maybe I’m pregnant”, Rhea retorted, but Candice wasn’t impressed.

“You’re not funny”, Candice said and went around to feel Rhea’s forehead. “You’re burning up, Rhea. You have to go to the doctor”.

“I’m fine, man, just chill out. I’ll get some stuff from the pharmacy. I’m sure it’s just the flu”.

“That’s not good enough. You need to actually go to the doctor”.

Rhea flipped her off, but then sighed and promised she would get checked out.

Candice wasn’t sure if Rhea would actually do it, but she gave a nod before leaving for an afternoon class.

Rhea sighed and decided to make an appointment at the campus doctor, if only to appease Candice.

-

By the Friday afternoon, Rhea couldn’t leave her bed. Her body was aching, her head hurt and she was burning up one minute then chilling the next. On Thursday the doctor told her she had a stomach bug. He gave her some pills and told her to stay in bed for a couple of days.

Rhea was convinced that if she took the medicine, she would be okay in no time. But on Friday she still felt like shit. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to go out with Bianca that Saturday. Bianca had texted her earlier asking what kind of outfit she should wear for their date, but Rhea didn’t respond.

Late Friday night Bianca called, which caught Rhea by surprise. She cleared her throat before picking up.

“Hi, Bianca”, she said casually.

“Why are you ignoring me? I thought we were past that shit”, Bianca said with the annoyance audible in her voice.

“I know, I know… I just… I’m not feeling too great. I didn’t wanna tell you cos I didn’t wanna disappoint you”. Rhea sighed and continued, “I’m too sick to go out with you tomorrow”.

Bianca went quiet for a few seconds. “What’s wrong?”, she asked.

“Stomach bug or flu or something”.

“You don’t sound well, Ripley. Did you see a doctor?”

“Yes, I did. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine”.

“Well, okay then”, Bianca said. “Get well soon”, she added awkwardly.

“Um, thanks”. Rhea listened by the phone even after Bianca hung up. Soon after she was asleep in her bed and only woke up at around 22:30 when somebody banged on her bedroom door. The Australian woman, still groggy from being half asleep, got up and opened her bedroom door.

“Hey, Ripley”, Bianca said from behind a face mask.

“W-what are you doing here?”, the blonde asked.

“I came to check up on you”, Bianca said nonchalantly. “Your roommate let me in just as she was leaving. I brought a care package”. Bianca held up a tote bag. “Can I come in?”

“You’ll get sick”, Rhea said.

“I never get sick. And besides, I’m wearing a mask, I’ll be fine”.

Rhea didn’t have enough strength to fight, so she went back to bed and watched as Bianca paced around in her bedroom, before sitting in her swivel chair.

“So this is where the magic happens, huh?”, she asked.

Rhea just groaned and covered herself with her blanket.

“Fun LED lights, an Australian flag and clothes laying in the floor – a very sexy mood indeed”, Bianca teased.

“Go away”, Rhea said into her pillow, but Bianca just laughed and walked over to the bed. She knelt next to Rhea and ran her hand through the blonde’s hair. She was hot and sweaty, but Bianca didn’t want to tease her anymore.

“Why don’t you go take a hot shower, hm? You’ll feel so much better”, Bianca said with a smile audible in her voice.

Rhea turned over and narrowed her eyes. “Why are you doing this?”, she asked.

“Don’t ask so many questions – go shower”.

Rhea gingerly got out of bed and walked over to her closet. She picked out some clothes to wear before making her way to the bathroom she shared with Candice and Io.

Bianca got to work, first making Rhea’s bed and then picking up and throwing away all the tissues on the bedside table. She opened the window for a while, but closed it before it got too chilly in the room. She then sat back down on by the desk and checked her instragram as she waited for Rhea.

After a few minutes, Rhea strolled in, dressed in black sweatpants and an oversized white t-shirt.

“You cleaned up in here?”, Rhea asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I thought I’d make it a bit more habitable”. Bianca walked over to the bed and lifted the covers. “Get in”, she said. She watched as Rhea climbed back into bed and then sat down beside her. “I figured you weren’t really hungry, but I brought some vitamin water and if you do get hungry, I’ve got fruit cups, gingerbread cookies cos my nanna always says there’s nothing a little ginger can’t fix”.

Rhea just smiled and mouthed a thank you.

“And also in the care package…”, Bianca revealed a fluffy teddy with a red bowtie. “This little guy will keep you company”.

Rhea grabbed the bear and hugged it. “You’re so cute”, she said and placed him by her pillow.

“Me or Teddy?”, Bianca asked as she opened the vitamin water and handed it to Rhea.

“Both of you”, Rhea said with a small smile forming on her lips. “You’re something else, Bianca Belair”. She took a sip of water. “I wish I could kiss you right now”, she said before thinking.

Bianca was caught off guard by the admission, but downplayed it. “Did you take your medicine?”

“Yes, I did mom”, Rhea said with a cheeky smile.

“Hmm, more like daddy?”, Bianca teased again, caressing Rhea’s face.

“Shut up”, Rhea admonished innocently.

Bianca checked the time on her phone. “I should probably go, it’s getting really late”.

Rhea frowned. “How will you get home?”, she asked.

“I’ll get an Uber, don’t worry”. Bianca got up and looked down at Rhea. “Feel better”, she said and offered a genuine smile.

“Good night, beautiful”.

Bianca felt flushed by the new term of endearment but said nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading x  
> As always, drop a kudos if you're into that sorta thing and leave a comment to make my day.
> 
> Also, check out a new series I'm working on for the pairing of Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox - https://archiveofourown.org/works/25436578
> 
> Stay safe x


	8. Chapter 8

Bianca couldn’t focus on the textbook in front of her. Her mind was in a million places at once and the words were swimming around in front of her.

College had become rather stressful all of a sudden – she had tests and assignments that were due. She was always tired, even too tired to work out or show up for javelin practice with Hunter. She had called him and explained that her schoolwork was becoming too much and he understood.

Late on a Thursday night, when all she really wanted to do was eat and go to bed after another day of stressful tests. Usually Bianca had a posse with her. Tyler and Isaiah never left her side, but recently she’d been blowing them off in favour of focussing on her schoolwork. She loved her boys, but she needed her distance from them.

Bianca was also frustrated with her parents, but that was nothing new. They’d always put immense pressure on her – she had to be the smartest, fastest and best. Her parents expected weekly reports on how her classes were going and how many hours she’d been spending on the track. Being an only child and military brat was all Bianca ever knee, but it was all getting too much for her.

The brown-skinned girl settled down on her couch with a plate of food, ready to dig in, when she heard a knock on her door. She let out a long-suffering sigh and went to check who it was. She almost instantly knew it was Rhea when she saw the person’s hand cover the peephole. Rhea was the only one Bianca knew would be childish enough to do something like that. She rolled her eyes and opened the door.

“Hi”, Bianca said bluntly, leaning against the frame of the door.

Rhea’s excited smile quickly faded. She cleared her throat before she spoke. “Hey”.

“Why are you here?”, Bianca asked with a frown on her face.

“I just wanted to pay you a visit – see how you’re doing”.

Bianca shrugged. “I don’t have time for your crap, Rhea”.

“Jesus, what’s the matter with you? I just wanted to come ‘round and say thanks for the other night”. Rhea held out a little black box. “I got you this. You can keep this if you want, I don’t care”. Rhea shoved the box into Bianca’s chest and was just about to walk off, but Bianca reached out and grabbed Rhea’s arm, halting her.

“Wait, don’t leave… I’m sorry”. Bianca’s grip loosened, but she was still touching Rhea. The Australian woman turned around, but she was not amused.

“I get that you have this bitchy persona and you’re _so_ fucking cool, but I don’t deserve to be treated like this”, Rhea said, running a hand through her hair.

“I know you don’t and I’m sorry”. Bianca sighed and took a step back. “Do you wanna come in?”

Rhea shook her head. “I should go”. She turned and left before the other woman could say or do anything.

Bianca looked at the box in her hand and opened it. She saw the ruby stud earrings and a small smile crept on her face. She hoped Rhea was still in the building, knowing the elevator was out of order. She made her way down the stairs.

“Rhea, wait up!”, she called out when she saw Rhea making her way down to the second flight of stairs.

The blonde kept walking, although Bianca was sure she heard her. She hurried down the stairs, hoping to catch up to her.

“Please stop”, Bianca called out again.

When Bianca finally reached Rhea, it was outside the building, with Rhea making her way to her car. She turned around and folded her arms at her chest.

“What?”

Bianca took a few steps forward. “I’m sorry for the way I acted back there. I was having a bad day and I took it out on you. I had no right to do that”. She crossed her arms when she noticed how cold it was.

“I was sick as a dog and I still treated you better than that”, Rhea noted. “I know we play this game and whatever, but I’ve always respected you”. She shook her head in the negative. “Cos just like every other relationship I’ve ever had, I get treated like shit and I’m supposed to be okay with that”.

“Rhea, I just –”

“No, no… Now you have to listen to me, Bianca. I get cheated on and abandoned and left behind all the time. And every time I put my heart on the line, somebody just breaks it”. She cast her eyes downward and stared at the pavement for a few long seconds. “I’m not gonna let you break my heart – I’ll be gone before that happens”.

Bianca wanted to walk over and give Rhea a hug, but she was afraid of rejection. “I know how you feel. Putting yourself out there, trying your hardest, just for someone to break you down”. Even though it might not be in the same context, Bianca understood Rhea’s pain.

They stood opposite each other for what seemed like forever.

“The earrings you gave me… they’re beautiful”. Bianca said, hoping to cut the tension.

“Red’s your favourite colour, right?”, she asked and offered a smile.

“It is”. Bianca walked up to Rhea and rested her hand on the small of her back.

Rhea wanted to protest, but Bianca cuts her off with a kiss. A long, lingering kiss that catches the Australian off guard. When they finally pull apart, Bianca pulls Rhea closer than they had ever been and rests her head on the slightly taller woman’s chest.

“You know I won’t hurt you on purpose, right?”, Bianca asked.

Rhea chose not to answer, she just kept holding on to Bianca.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading x

**Author's Note:**

> Weekly updates every Sunday x
> 
> Stay safe, wash your hands and keep that social distance. I love all of you x


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